Judge partially dismisses Scottsdale developer's defamation suit

by Beth Duckett - Oct. 5, 2012 04:40 PMThe Republic | azcentral.com

A judge has partially dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by a prominent Scottsdale developer against his most vocal critic.

In his ruling Wednesday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Gordon ordered Shawn Yari, of Triyar Management of Arizona, and Bill Crawford, a downtown-business owner and Triyar critic, to make efforts to resolve the dispute.

Gordon found that certain statements made by Crawford against Triyar and the city's bar district are protected by the First Amendment.

Other statements could be proven false and are therefore not protected, he said.

Another hearing could be necessary.

In March, Yari filed the civil suit against Crawford and his wife, Deborah. The plaintiffs are: Yari; his company, Triyar Management of Arizona; and 7277 Scottsdale Hotel LLC, which owns the W Scottsdale hotel.

In e-mails, Crawford repeatedly criticized Yari's beach-club-anchored complex, which now is under construction in the city's downtown-entertainment district. He has accused Triyar of misrepresenting its projects and negatively impacting surrounding neighborhoods through loud music at the hotel and bars in downtown Scottsdale.

Crawford told The Republic he was pleased with the ruling.

"I expect a quick end to this matter once all of the supporting evidence is presented," he said.

In the ruling, Gordon found that a cartoon depicting the W Hotel as a toilet as well as e-mails criticizing Triyar and the bar district sent by Crawford are protected speech under the Constitution.

"While Crawford's opinions are undoubtedly insulting, they are protected by the First Amendment," Gordon said.

Gordon granted Crawford's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but only in part.

According to the ruling, other e-mails sent by Crawford accused Triyar of failing to maintain a sign at a parking garage, misrepresenting its projects and building without city permits.

According to Gordon, certain statements in the e-mails could be proven false or true, and are therefore not constitutionally-protected.

In one case, Crawford said he has photographic evidence and letters from the city stating code violations by Triyar. He accused Yari's council of editing the pictures from the e-mails and presenting them in court.

Crawford said he planned to print poster-size lithographs of the cartoon to sell. The cartoon, which depicted a drive-through for campaign contributions and a sign offerings bars for rent, was captioned "Turning Downtown Scottsdale into a Sewer," according to court documents.

Both parties must file statements by Oct. 31, outlining any issues that are still in dispute.